


Wraith

by Bookworm1063



Series: CO Countdown 2020 [7]
Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Carry On Countdown (Simon Snow), Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:47:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27825526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bookworm1063/pseuds/Bookworm1063
Summary: “There is hair, Penny. On my bed! And it’s not mine!”“You could always spell it off.”I go back to my plate of scones. Sometimes, Penelope is just no help at all.Simon realizes his roommate is hiding something in their dorm.
Relationships: Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Pitch & Simon Snow
Series: CO Countdown 2020 [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2026988
Comments: 4
Kudos: 24
Collections: Carry On Countdown 2020





	Wraith

**Fourth Year**

**Simon**

For the past three days, I’ve been finding strange long hairs on my pillows, and claw marks on the legs of my desk. Every time I ask Penny about them, she brushes it off.

“Probably just a wraith, Simon. The Mage will take care of it if it becomes a real problem.”

“There is _hair_ , Penny. On my bed! And it’s not mine!”

“You could always spell it off.”

I go back to my plate of scones. Sometimes, Penelope is just no help at all.

There are only two days left until break, and exams are over. None of the teachers have given us any homework, so I’m free to wander the school, thinking about the wraith.

Maybe Baz let it into the school. It would make sense. He’s probably training it to follow me around, spying. I glance back over my shoulder, but there’s nothing there. 

I start back towards Mummers House. I don’t expect to find Baz. He stays out of our room as much as possible when he thinks I might be there.

When I open the door, Baz is sitting on his bed. There’s something… black and furry in his lap.

“I knew it!” I close the door. Baz looks up, shocked.

“Snow. You should be in class.”

He’s right, I realize. I should. Penny will kill me when she finds out I skipped.

“You’re plotting,” I say. “I know about the wraith. That’s it, isn’t it?”

“What?” Baz blinks, then looks down at whatever it is that’s on his lap. “You mean this? Really, Snow, how thick can you get?”

The thing lifts its head, watching me with perfectly round yellow eyes.

I jump back. My hand is already at my hip, waiting for me to summon the Sword of Mages.

“Crowley, Snow,” Baz says. “It’s a cat.”

A cat?

I take a closer look. The cat is long and lanky, with huge ears and paws that seem too big for its body. Its teeth are long and sharp, and they poke out over the cat’s lower lip, like fangs. The cat is flopped across Baz’s lap, and he reaches to scratch it under the chin. The cat closes its eyes and purrs. It sounds like a pig grunting.

“Why does that cat sound like a pig?” I ask. “Is it possessed?”

“No, you dolt,” Baz says. “That’s just how he purrs.”

“It also looks like a vampire.”

“I should have known you were a dog person.” Baz rolls his eyes and continues to pet the cat.

I’m tempted to tell him there’s nothing wrong with being a dog person, but I think this is the closest thing we’ve had to a real conversation in almost five years. I don’t want to ruin it.

“Sorry for thinking you’d summoned a wraith,” I mutter.

“You’re forgiven,” Baz says. “For that and only that, if you don’t tell the Mage there’s a cat in your dorm room for the next two days. He’s a gift for my sister.”

“Okay,” I say. “Does he have a name?”

Baz shrugs. “I suppose Mordelia will name him. Though I quite like _Wraith,_ now that you’ve suggested it.”

I cross the room to stand in front of Baz. Wraith stands up, stretches, and headbutts my leg.

I eye Baz warily, then sit down next to him on his bed. He stiffens, but doesn’t move away.

“We can go back to hating each other after break,” I say. Wraith sets his two front paws on my thigh and starts kneading my leg, still grunting like a pig.

“Fine,” Baz says. Wraith tips his tiny head back and meows in agreement. 


End file.
